


Heartbeat

by SoDoRoses (FairyChess)



Series: LAOFT Extras [67]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Service Industry, Social Anxiety, does this count as a coffee shop au, rude customers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 05:17:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20688128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyChess/pseuds/SoDoRoses
Summary: “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person.”-Dave Barry





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> For these prompts:
> 
> LAOFT: how and when does Thomas meet Harley? what did Logan think? ([@trivia-goddess](trivia-goddess.tumblr.com))
> 
> So can we get some Logan getting his revenge when Thomas gets a significant other? :) (anon)
> 
> How do Harley and Thomas meet?? Was it gay panic/love on both sides, just one, neither as they started out as friends?? (anon)
> 
> All on tumblr!
> 
> and many thanks to [@trivia-goddess](trivia-goddess.tumblr.com) for betaing!

“I’m gonna die,”

“You are not going to die,” said Logan, rolling his eyes.

“I aaaaaaam,” Thomas whined.

“Then tell Leo that you are uncomfortable with being set up on a blind date and cancel,”

Thomas didn’t answer, and he heard Logan pointlessly tap the screen of his computer.

“Waterville to Boston, come in Boston,”

“Berryyyyyy,”

“I don’t understand what the issue is,” Logan sighed, “You have given me no reason to believe that your friends are not understanding of your social anxiety,”

“It’s not _that_,”

“Then please speak plainly, Bug,” said Logan softly, “I cannot provide my half of our reasoning skills if I do not know the problem,”

“It’s just…”

He trailed off once more.

Logan didn’t sound… frustrated, exactly, but- definitely a little exasperated. Thomas’s stomach twisted.

“Thomas-”

“What if it goes great?” Thomas blurted.

Logan blinked.

“Perfect, even,” said Thomas, “Amazing and- and he’s my true love or whatever,”

“Then… presumably you will have… another date,” said Logan, “I cannot fathom why you seem upset by this,”

“Okay, and then what? Another date, and lots of dates, and- he’ll want me to meet his parents or something, but then he’ll want to meet _my _parents probably, and- and-”

Something cold settled over Logan’s face.

“And then you will have to bring him home,” he said quietly.

“Don’t say it like that,” said Thomas, “It’s not- I’m not ashamed. Or embarrassed, or- any of that. It has nothing to do with _you_,”

“I know,” said Logan, and it had to be the truth but it didn’t sound quite _sure_ enough for Thomas’s taste.

“If I had never been left in your crib you would be in the same situation, explaining your hometowns oddities,”

“Our crib,” said Thomas.

“Right,” said Logan, “Our crib. Apologies.”

Thomas gave him a narrow-eyed glare across the feed.

“I am an important and indispensable member of our family,” said Logan flatly, “I merely misspoke. This is about _your_ current crisis, not any of mine,”

“So you _are_ having a crisis right now?”

“_Thomas,”_

“Leave me alone to _die_,” Thomas groaned.

“The alternative is limiting your dating pool to residents of Wickhills,” said Logan, “None of whom you have ever expressed even a passing interest in,”

“Not true,”

“The crush you had on Sloane when we were nine does not count and you know it,” said Logan, “Especially because you immediately ‘took it back’ when Sloane told you _he_ had a crush on Corbin. I am not an expert in such matters but I _am_ reasonably certain that is not how crushes work,”

“I don’t even know how to _start_ a conversation like that!” said Thomas, “He’ll think I’m messing with him if I bring it up on the first date, but if I do it after we’ve been dating a while what if he thinks I was keeping it a secret?”

“Thomas,” sighed Logan, “Do you even know this man’s _name_?”

“… No,”

“Then you may not even _speak_ to him again after tomorrow,” said Logan, “I highly doubt you are required to share your status as a resident of a supernatural village upon meeting him,”

“Easy for you to say, all your husband collection _is_ from Wickhills,”

“I had to tell Andy and Teagan,” said Logan dryly, “And Andy armed himself with Nerf blaster full of saltwater and daisy petals when he visited the first time, so you can hardly say I had no difficulties,”

“You’re the one who let Roman tell him about red-caps,”

“_Regardless_,” said Logan, “We cannot change who we are, or where we come from. You have limited courses of action available,”

“Comforting,”

“You don’t call me when you need comforting, you call Mom,” said Logan fondly, “You call me when you need someone to be rational,”

Thomas set his chin on his hands, grinning.

“You know me too well, Berry,”

“I should hope so, after more than twenty years,”

Thomas sighed.

“Well, guess I have a date,”

“Tell him if he hurts you I will use him as rose bush fertilizer,” said Logan lightly.

Thomas gaped.

“Logan, what the _hell,”_

“I said _tell him_, I didn’t say I actually would,”

“That’s not better!”

Either way, Thomas wasn’t going to _tell_ Logan that it _had_ actually made him feel better.

No need to encourage him.

—

Okay, so this was going… good, actually, and Thomas may have been acting a little melodramatic yesterday.

They were out, because inviting someone over to your apartment came with all sorts of implications that Thomas was _not_ interested in.

They’d gone to an art show, because they went to an _art school_ and that was just what you did – and now they were on the way to a diner.

Thomas had never been there, but Kevin said it was his favorite, and Thomas figured there couldn’t be anything too exotic in a diner. He could always just get a sandwich.

That was one weird thing about moving to a city from a town of five hundred – even foods that Thomas _thought_ should be familiar seemed just slightly off. He was a junior now and he still hadn’t gotten used to it; just last week Thomas had horrified Valerie when he’d revealed he thought cottage cheese was a normal lasagna ingredient.

There was a “Please Seat Yourselves” sign, and Kevin let out an adorable little cheer when his favorite table was free. They slid into the booth, chatting while they waited for a server.

Except Kevin was digging in his pockets, which Thomas thought was a little weird. And then he laid five one-dollar bills on the edge of the table, which was downright bizarre.

“What are you doing?” said Thomas.

“Oh, you don’t know this trick?” said Kevin, grinning, “It’s great, I’ll show you,”

He went back to the previous topic, and Thomas was still a little confused, but he figured it would come back up. Over Kevin’s shoulder, some pretty vehement gesticulating was happening. One of the waitresses was arguing with a guy who might be the manager, and occasionally looking over at their table, with an expression that could only be described as _dread_.

Thomas suddenly did not feel so great.

She finally made her way over, setting the menus down with a smile so tense Thomas wanted to ask her if she needed to sit down.

“Sorry about the wait,” she said with clearly forced brightness.

“It’s okay,” said Thomas immediately.

“Of course,” said Kevin, and then he looked the waitress right in the eye and took one of the bills off the edge of the table.

Logan had been wrong. Thomas was _actually_ going to die.

What had Leo said? A guy in his videography class? Well he’d clearly never been to a restaurant with him and oh, goodness _gracious_ the waitress hadn’t reacted which meant this was _normal._

She turned to Thomas, and the smile was so frosty Thomas barely resisted the urge to shrink down in his seat in second-hand shame. His heartbeat was thudding in his ears.

“I’m Hannah, and I’ll be your server today,” she said, “What would you like to drink?”

_Arsenic,_ thought Thomas.

“Water,” he said, strained.

“Diet,” said Kevin, without even looking at her, and then he flipped open the menu in the most obvious dismissal Thomas had ever seen.

It was going to be a _long_ lunch.

—

Thomas had never experienced a meal so viscerally uncomfortable in his entire life.

By the time it was over there was one dollar on the edge of the table – Kevin had removed one for every “mistake,” which had included bringing him eggs that were over-easy instead of over-medium – and Thomas had taken a grand total of three bites of his sandwich before asking the waitress for a box in the smallest voice he’d ever heard himself use.

“Is there something wrong with it?” said Kevin, sweet and smiling, and you’d never be able to tell there was a total _asshole_ hiding behind it.

“It’s perfect,” said Thomas, a little sharp, “I’m just not as hungry as I thought I was,”

Kevin nodded, still smiling, and went back to the conversation Thomas had spitefully stopped paying attention to ten minutes ago.

“Here you go,” said Hannah sweetly, setting the check between them.

Kevin grabbed it before Thomas could reach, looking it over and frowning.

“You charged me for the eggs?” he said.

Hannah looked like she wanted to strangle him. Thomas would not stop her, at all.

Kevin sighed, removing the last dollar from the edge of the table. Thomas was gonna throw up, probably, and trying to communicate _some_ kind of apology through his eyes. Hannah wasn’t even looking at him, and Thomas should say _something_ but the anxiety cloying in his chest dragged the words back down his throat.

“I’m sorry you’re having a bad day,” said Kevin, “Maybe next time, you should call off?”

Hannah face twitched over from irritation to outright fury, and then she stormed off.

Her eyes had been shiny.

“I’m sorry about that,” said Kevin, “The service isn’t usually so bad. But hey – she probably learned her lesson, right?”

Thomas stared, wondering if this guy was some kind of pod person. Or a government experiment engineered to have no compassion.

Someone came up to the table, arms crossed and scowling. Thomas startled, because he didn’t think he’d ever seen a person in real life who looked quite so much like a _Weasley._

“Hi, who are you?” the employee snapped.

Kevin gave him an incredulous look.

“None of your business,” he said, “Who are you?”

“I’m the new manager,” he said, “Get out of my diner,”

“_Excuse me?”_

The manager leaned forward, speaking slowly.

“You made my waitress cry,” he said, “You have harassed my kitchen staff. And you have been, frankly, abysmal people in general. Pay your bill at the register, and then. Get. Out,”

Thomas winced. He probably deserved that.

Kevin sputtered, but the manager didn’t budge. Thomas just followed, head down, trying not to cower and failing miserably.

“I’m so sorry, it’s never like that,” said Kevin as they walked out the door, “Guess new management isn’t interested in customer service,”

“Whoops!” said Thomas, a little hysterically, “Forgot my wallet, be right back!”

“Well, I’ll go with-”

“No, that’s fine, it’ll just take me a minute,” he said, turning on his heel and bolting back down the sidewalk to the diner.

The manager was still at the till when Thomas entered, and when he looked up he scowled.

“I told you-”

“I am _so sorry,”_ said Thomas, “Holy shit, I’m so, so sorry, I have- I have the tip, goodness gracious-”

The manager’s eyebrows had flown up, and now that Thomas had started talking he couldn’t seem to stop.

“This was a blind date, I don’t know that guy and oh my _goodness,_ what an asshole, I’m so sorry, I should have said something but I just get- get kinda anxious and he’s my ride back to my apartment and that poor _waitress_, where is she, I have _got_ to apologize-”

“Hey, easy,”

The manager had come around the register, hesitantly laying his hand on Thomas’s shoulder.

“Just- breathe,” he said gently, “It’s- I’ll get Hannah, okay? I’m sorry I… I snapped at you, I didn’t know,”

“You do not have to apologize to _me_ right now,” said Thomas, a little hysterical.

Hannah looked even more suspicious than the manager, but she took the ten that Thomas shoved into her hands and the stammered apology he babbled. And then _she_ said she was sorry too, and _why_ were people trying to apologize to _Thomas_ in this situation?

He glanced back out the front window, trying to stay out of Kevin’s line of sight. Kevin was tapping his foot, looking increasingly irritated.

It was _creepy_, how easy it was for him to turn the kindness on and off. Thomas’s stomach turned again at the thought of having to ride home with him, and then figure out how on _earth_ he was going to decline a second date.

“You said he’s your ride?” said the manager.

“Yeah,”

The manager gave him a considering look.

“I know I’m a total stranger,” he said carefully, “But- I mean, I wouldn’t really wanna get in a car with that guy, personally,”

He cleared his throat.

“I get off in half an hour-?”

Thomas just blinked.

“Oh, like- like, you could, take me-?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, I can,”

“Oh, thank _goodness_,” said Thomas, “I think I’d rather take a nap in a fairy ring than go with that guy,”

Which Thomas didn’t realize was a _super weird_ example to use until it was already out of his mouth and the manager was looking at him like he was full-on kooksville.

The manager shook himself a little

“Want me to get rid of him?”

“You don’t have to-”

“I want to,” he said, “Genuinely. You’re sweet, and you were obviously miserable the whole time you’ve been here. Sweet people leave the diner happy, it’s the rules,”

Great. Now Thomas was _blushing_.

“I’m Harley, by the way,” he said, bumping Thomas a little as he walked past, “So you’re not getting in a car with a total stranger,”

Thomas’s face went even more warm, and it just got worse when Harley stuck his head out the door and shouted down the sidewalk.

“Hey, your date has taste, so you’re going home alone, Casanova,” he called, “Get lost before I report you for loitering,”

He didn’t even wait for a response before he shut the door behind him.

“Go on, sit,” he said, “I’ll get you some water, you still look a little freaked out. And you can finish your sandwich,”

“Oh, that’s fine,” said Thomas, sitting at the bar. “I don’t wanna bug you after _that,_ you’ve already been _way _nicer than you should be,”

“It’s water,” said Harley, amused, “I don’t think it’ll bankrupt us,”

Was Thomas going to spend the entirety of his time in this diner wanting to crawl into a hole?

“Right. Thanks,” he said, strangled.

Half an hour – Thomas could handle not embarrassing himself for half an hour.

—

“_How_ did a guy like you end up on a date with that jackass?” said Harley incredulously. He was leaning forward on his elbows across the counter, looking totally baffled.

“I told you it was a blind date!” said Thomas, “My friend set it up, said it was someone in his videography class,”

“Did he also tell you the guy was one stray stabbing away from being Ted Bundy?”

Thomas snorted, trying to cover his mouth to keep the coffee from spraying.

“I don’t think he really knows him,” said Thomas, coughing, “No _way_ Leo would have done that,”

“Okay, but – Thomas. My guy. He’s like-”

Harley made a mind blowing motion with both his hands and Thomas cackled.

“Nuclear meltdown levels of jerk!” Harley laughed, “Everybody’s been telling me _nightmare_ stories of this guy since I started, he is a _piece of work_, alright,”

“He seemed totally normal!” exclaimed Thomas, “He was really nice, literally until we walked in the door and he saw a service uniform,”

“Your poker face, man,” said Harley, “I never would have known you were uncomfortable if you hadn’t barged back in-”

“I didn’t _barge-_”

“-talking a mile a minute, so bright red your face looked like a strawberry-”

“I was _mortified_,” said Thomas, “Cut me some slack, I thought I was going to have _stroke_ I was so embarrassed,”

“Speaking of embarrassed,” said Hannah, sticking her head around Harley’s shoulder, “You gonna get a move on any time soon, Romeo and Julio?”

Thomas sputtered, and Harley turned just as red as his hair.

“What- what are you talking about?”

“Your shift ended ten minutes ago, genius,” she said, “David’s been here twenty,”

She gestured over her shoulder, and across the diner was another guy in the same shirt as Harley.

“Oh my- I gotta clean the-”

“I did it,” said Hannah, rolling her eyes, “Since you were busy hitting on customers,”

She was smiling though, so hopefully she wasn’t as miffed as her words suggested.

“Get lost, Harley,”

“I- Okay,”

Neither one of them looked at each other as Harley lead the way out of the store to the employee parking, or as Thomas gave stilted directions to his apartment. Thomas could feel his heart beating in his throat.

“Thanks for the, uh- ride,”

“No problem!” said Harley, a little loud in the car.

Thomas didn’t move.

“_Were_ you hitting on me?” he blurted.

Harley’s face was crimson, and he cleared his throat.

“Uh, not- not on purpose?” he said, “Or like, um, I wasn’t- consciously thinking ‘hey, I’m gonna hit on this poor sweet guy after he just escaped his piece of garbage date like a vulture,’ but I think that-”

He coughed again.

“I think- I was, yeah,”

Thomas was probably smiling a little stupidly.

“I think I was hitting on you, too,” he admitted.

Harley didn’t look back, but he did look like he was holding back a smile.

“Wow, hitting on service workers,” said Harley, “Very classy,”

“Oh, shut up, Harley,” Thomas laughed.

“Now, you’re being _rude_ to service workers, the audacity-”

“Do you want my number?” said Thomas, a little shaky.

Harley hesitated just long enough that Thomas’s heart did a weird little quiver in his chest.

“Yeah,” said Harley, giggling, “Like, stupid a lot, to be honest,”

“Swap?”

“Swap,”

There was scrambling for a marker, and then Thomas tried not to explode when Harley gently took his hand and wrote the digits across the back of his palm.

Harley handed over the marker, and Thomas probably held his hand a little _too_ long after he finished writing his own, but _both_ of them had stupid grins on their faces now, so it was probably fine.

Thomas _didn’t_ scream into his pillow when he got to his room, but it was a close thing.

He could barely focus for the next few hours, which was just embarrassing, frankly, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when his laptop started ringing.

Logan’s face blinked onto the screen, and Thomas let out a ridiculous giggle before he could stop himself.

Logan raised one eyebrow.

“I take it your date went well?”

“Oh goodness, no,” laughed Thomas, “It was totally awful. Zero out of ten, would not recommend,”

Logan narrowed his eyes.

And then he shut the book in his lap and folded his hands.

“You are required by metaphorical twin law to elaborate immediately,”

And when Logan immediately pointed out the “borderline absurdity of experiencing an actual romantic comedy plot in real life,” Thomas couldn’t even stop smiling long enough to defend himself.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm also [@tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors](tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors.tumblr.com) over on tumblr! - im not taking prompts right now but feel free to send an ask about the verse!


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